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Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama buddy Decent Films - SDG Reviews|url=http://decentfilms.com/reviews/up|website=Decent Films|accessdate=22 August 2016}} adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film centers on an elderly widower named Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) and an earnest boy named Russell (Jordan Nagai). By tying thousands of balloons to his house, Carl sets out to fulfill his dream to see the wilds of South America and complete a promise made to his late wife, Ellie. The film was directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Bob Peterson, who also wrote the film's screenplay, as well as the story with Tom McCarthy, with music composed by Michael Giacchino. Docter began working on the story in 2004, which was based on fantasies of escaping from life when it becomes too irritating. He and eleven other Pixar artists spent three days in Venezuela gathering research and inspiration. The designs of the characters were caricatured and stylized considerably, and animators were challenged with creating realistic cloth. Up was Pixar's first film to be presented in Disney Digital 3-D. It was released on May 29, 2009, and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film to do so. The film grossed over $735 million, and received universal acclaim, with critics commending the humor and heart of the film. Asner's vocal performance was praised, as was the montage of Carl and his wife Ellie aging together. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, making it the second animated film in history to receive such a nomination, following Beauty and the Beast (1991). Plot In the 1930s, shy eight-year-old Carl Fredricksen idolizes famous explorer Charles F. Muntz. When Muntz is accused of fabricating the skeleton of a giant exotic bird he says he discovered at Paradise Falls, he vows not to return until he captures one alive. One day, Carl befriends a girl named Ellie, also a Muntz fan. She confides to Carl her desire to move her "clubhouse"—an abandoned house in the neighborhood—to a cliff overlooking Paradise Falls. Carl and Ellie grow up, marry and live in the restored house. After Ellie suffers a miscarriage and they are told they cannot have a child, the couple remembers their childhood dream of visiting Paradise Falls. They save for the trip, but repeatedly have to spend the money on more pressing needs. Finally, the now elderly Carl arranges for the trip but Ellie suddenly falls ill, is hospitalized, and dies. Years later in the present day, Carl still lives in the house by stubbornly holding out while the neighborhood homes are torn down and replaced by skyscrapers. When he accidentally injures a construction worker, the court deems him a public menace and orders him to move to a retirement home. However, Carl resolves to keep his promise to Ellie by turning his house into a makeshift airship using thousands of helium balloons. Russell, a young "Wilderness Explorer" who visits Carl in his effort to earn his final merit badge for assisting the elderly, becomes an accidental stowaway. The flying house encounters a nimbus storm and ends up high above South America. The house lands on a tepui opposite Paradise Falls. Carl and Russell harness themselves to the still-buoyant house and begin to walk it across the mesa, hoping to reach the falls before the balloons deflate. Russell encounters a tall, colorful flightless bird whom he names "Kevin". They then meet a Golden Retriever named Dug, who wears a special collar that allows him to speak and who vows to take the bird to his master. The next day, they encounter a pack of aggressive dogs led by Alpha, a Doberman Pinscher, and are taken to their master, who turns out to be Charles Muntz. Muntz invites Carl and Russell aboard his dirigible, where he explains to them that he is still searching for the giant bird he promised to bring back. When Russell notes the bird's similarity to Kevin, Muntz becomes hostile, believing they are attempting to capture the bird themselves. Carl flees with Kevin and Dug, but Muntz captures Kevin and starts a fire beneath Carl's house, forcing him to choose between saving it or Kevin. Carl saves the house and eventually reaches the falls, but Russell is upset at Carl for abandoning Kevin. Carl looks through Ellie's childhood scrapbook and is surprised to find that she has filled in the blank pages with photos of their marriage, along with a note written from her hospital bed, thanking him for the "adventure" and encouraging him to have a new one. The repentant Carl goes outside, only to see Russell sailing off with some balloons and a propulsive leaf blower to rescue Kevin. By throwing out his furniture and keepsakes, Carl lightens the house enough to follow. Russell is captured by Muntz, but Carl manages to board the dirigible, tether the house, and free Russell and Kevin. Dug saddles Alpha with the cone of shame and thereby unexpectedly becomes the dogs' new leader. Muntz determinedly pursues them around the airship and manages to disable Carl's house, but snags his foot on some loose balloon lines and falls to his death. The house, having lost too many balloons to fly, descends out of sight through the clouds. Carl and Russell reunite Kevin with her chicks and fly the dirigible back home. Russell receives his 'Assisting the Elderly' badge, and Carl presents Russell with his own badge: a grape soda cap that Ellie gave to Carl when they first met. Meanwhile, unknown to Carl, his house has landed on the cliff beside Paradise Falls, fulfilling his promise to Ellie. Reception 'Critical response' On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 98% based on 290 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "An exciting, funny, and poignant adventure, Up offers an impeccably crafted story told with wit and arranged with depth, as well as yet another visual Pixar treat." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an "A+" on an A+ to F scale, one of fewer than 80 films to earn the score in the history of the service. References External links * Up on IMDb * Up at Rotten Tomatoes Category:Up (2009 film) Category:2009 films Category:2009 computer-animated films Category:2000s 3D films Category:2000s adventure films Category:2000s American animated films Category:2000s comedy films Category:2000s fantasy films Category:American films Category:American 3D films Category:American adventure comedy films Category:American children's animated comedy films Category:American children's animated fantasy films Category:American computer-animated films Category:American fantasy adventure films Category:Animated films about dogs Category:Animated films about death Category:English-language films Category:Animated adventure films Category:Films about old age Category:Films about widowhood Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Films set in South America Category:Films using computer-generated imagery Category:Pixar animated films Category:Walt Disney Pictures films Category:Films scored by Michael Giacchino Category:Films directed by Pete Docter Category:Screenplays by Pete Docter Category:Scouting in popular culture Category:Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners Category:Best Animated Feature BAFTA winners Category:Best Animated Feature Film Golden Globe winners Category:Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award